Over the past few weeks I kept seeing a commercial for a TV show on ABC called GCB. The promo is hilarious. It features a group of women in Dallas, Texas whose exploits will surely give the ladies of Desperate Housewives a run for their money. Every time I watched the commercial I wondered, What on Earth does GCB stand for? I finally got around to Googling it and found out it stands for Good Christian Bitches. After I quit laughing, I did some more research and discovered the TV show is based on a book by the same name. Of course, I had to read this book.
At 304 pages, Good Christian Bitches by Kim Gatlin is a quick, fun read. It is perfect for reading at the beach or while traveling by plane. The book is a witty tale about the harm malicious gossip can cause and the hypocrisy among a group of so-called Godly women who spend their time in Bible study gossiping through the guise of prayer intentions. This premise might sound intense and not at all funny to those of you who haven’t read the book. Trust me. This book is funny and thought provoking in much the same way Steel Magnolias was both hilarious and sad.
Kim Gatlin has harnessed all of the qualities that make Southern women formidable, witty characters and let them loose in Good Christian Bitches. The protagonist of GCB is Amanda Vaughn. Amanda has recently moved from California back to her old Dallas, Texas neighborhood, Hillside Park. A couple of single ladies, Heather and Sharon, that reside in Hillside Park are not exactly thrilled to see another beautiful, single woman arrive in town. So they do what any good Christian would do: They begin a character assassination campaign through the use of their Bible study group. Heather and Sharon also see to it that Amanda is named as the chairwoman for a charity organization that was nearly destroyed the year before in hopes that Amanda will be too busy to date.
All of the action in this book is chock full of witty one liners including my personal favorite uttered by Amanda’s mother Elizabeth, “I’m more confused than Paris Hilton at an outlet mall.” Amanda also has some really great, insightful moments where she ponders what makes women want to be so vicious to each other. At one point she tells her daughter Sara, “I’m gonna tell you how some adults can be sometimes. The less truth there is in something, the more people want to believe it. it’s like there’s a really dark side to some people – the worse they can think of someone else, the better they’re allowed to feel about themselves.” When I read this line in the book I wanted to give Kim Gatlin a hug for writing it. Truer words have never been uttered by a fictional character.
One thing that makes this book so great is I’m pretty sure women everywhere will be able to relate to it. I kept thinking throughout reading it, Replace the cowboy hats, St, John suits, and cowboy boots with Sperry Topsiders, Tori Burch, and crawfish boils and this book could totally take place in Biloxi, MS. I’m pretty sure whether you live in NYC or Iowa you’ll have similar thoughts when reading Good Christian Bitches by Kim Gatlin.
Here is a promo video for the TV show GCB. It will give you an idea of what the book is like even though it is only loosely based on it.
I love the line about Christian Dior, and did y’all catch that dogs are named Tony and Romo? So funny! Click here
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I didn’t even know it was a book until I saw you post on Twitter. Now the book nerd in me in definitely going to have to check this one out…
As a native of a small town just north of Dallas, I hope people do know that we really don’t talk like that. Although we *do* love our Tony Romo, we enjoy our Josh Hamilton also.
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